Popular Library fiction books will have the genre name as a call # (FICTION if general fiction).

Once we migrate to Unicorn, all fiction will have genre name as call #.o This will be mapped and created based on the item’s permanent location code.

UNICORN system design requires that every item be linked to a call number/library record.o If we don’t fill in with something meaningful like genre names, accession type call #s (with no meaning) would be created in the form of XX(36270.1)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

One piece of the Sirsi ILS implementation is already up and running -- the Docutek VRLplus virtual reference system. While the Library was in negotiations with SirsiDynix late last summer, a trial was set up for MPLIC to use Docutek's software to introduce a new live online chat reference service. A Virtual Reference Task Force began working with the system on August 3, 2005, and the new service, offered through LINC, went live to the public on September 26. With the execution of MPLIC's contract with SirsiDynix, the service became official, and the Virtual Reference Task Force became the Docutek VRLplus Implementation Team.

In its first six months, the LINC Department has handled 99 chat and 514 e-mail reference questions through the Docutek VRLplus service.

Role of the Docutek VRLplus Team:

To coordinate the implementation of the Docutek VRLplus virtual reference system.

To identify the desired scope and parameters of the Library’s virtual reference service.

To identify the policies and procedures needed to successfully implement the new service.

To identify the technical requirements for and to coordinate the configuration of the VRLplus system to begin offering virtual reference service.

To identify the requirements for and to coordinate the delivery of staff training.

Upcoming/Outstanding Tasks for Week of May 15th• Installation and configuration of Rooms/EPS on Memphis server this week• Address any new questions during conference call on Tuesday, May 15th• Question from conference call on May 9th:o EPS searching without limits feature

Monday, May 15, 2006

There is a new URL for the EPS/Rooms demo site from SirsiDynix: http://roomsdemo.sirsi.com/rooms/ The old URL may continue to work, but is less up-to-date and likely to be less stable. The link has been changed where it appears on the blog. Those of you who bookmarked it in your browsers may want to change it there.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Some of you who have been exploring the EPS/Rooms demo site have noticed that you are unable to view the entire screen without scrolling from left to right. This is due to the EPS interface being designed for computer screens with a resolution of 1024 x 768, whereas staff and public PCs at MPLIC are configured with a resolution of 800 x 600. This is an issue for the Unicorn Workflows program as well, as attendees at the April onsite training discovered. In the computer training room, we were able to adjust screen resolutions on-the-fly, but this is not an option for most MPLIC PCs.

For this reason, in the future Automated Services staff will be reconfiguring all MPLIC PCs to the 1024 x 768 setting. This work will occur gradually over time as Workflows is installed on the PCs used by staff who have attended SirsiDynix training and who will be participating in reviewing a test data load. This activity is currently on the timeline for August, but may be moved forward.

Upcoming/Outstanding Tasks for Week of May 8th• Address any new questions during conference call on Tuesday, May 9th• Question from conference call on May 2nd – how can the Rooms/EPS [screen] resolution be adjusted?o Answer – The resolution must be adjusted on the PC – there is no way to adjust the resolution in the software; the recommended resolution is 1024x768, if possible

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

With this post, we come to the last in our series covering the different components of our new ILS’ public interface, the Enterprise Portal Solution. SirsiDynix's Resolver is a key component of the technology which makes federated searching, and the entire Enteprise Portal Solution, work.

Federated searching allows a library customer to retrieve search results from multiple databases and other online resources in a single hitlist. A link resolver allows the customer to click on the link for an article citation and retrieve the full text of the article whenever the library has rights to it, even if the full text is licensed from another vendor than the one that provided the citation. The resolver is able to do this through use of the OpenURL standard. The OpenURL is a means for encoding the basic bibliographical data for a periodical article, or other information object, as a Uniform Resource Locator (i.e., a World Wide Web address).

So far, link resolvers have been most useful for large research libraries who license content from several vendors and subscribe to a large number of e-journals. It has not been as important for MPLIC, as most of our full text database content comes from one vendor, ThomsonGale. However, this may not always be the case. In addition, the link resolver is part of the infrastructure of the federated search technology.

The meeting began with a review of the membership and charge of the team and each of the subteams. Alan noted that EPS is a new product with a number of implementations in progress but no full-fledged implementation yet for the team to look at. MPLIC is an early adopter of this technology platform, which is still evolving. SirsiDynix has recently entered into a partnership with Serials Solutions to use their federated search and OpenURL resolver technology, and is also still developing the features of the EPS OPAC so that it will have functional parity with the iBistro catalog interface.

Next, the team reviewed the Rooms/EPS Implementation Schedule. There will be a window of approximately 5 ½ months from the initial Rooms Builder training to the “Go Live” date for the new ILS. The transition from the Library’s current Web site to a new EPS-based site needs to happen in this time.

Alan and Paul presented a draft of the completed Rooms/EPS Questionnaire, which is due to SirsiDynix on May 10. Most of the work on the questionnaire has been done by Paul, building on decisions made earlier by the Unicorn Policy Creation and Data Migration Teams. Any additional comments or concerns about the questionnaire should be directed to Alan no later than Friday, May 5.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

SingleSearch is SirsiDynix's name for its federated search solution. Federated search, also often referred to by other terms such as metasearch or broadcast search, refers to the ability to search a variety of online information resources -- library catalogs, databases, digital collections, the Web -- with a single interface. The appeal of such an interface to library customers in our Googleized world is obvious. Many people appear to prefer a single blank search box -- in which they can enter their keywords, hit a button, and get satisfactory (if not perfect) results -- to learning the arcane jargon and syntax needed to successfully navigate our catalog and database interfaces. This isn't a preference for which we should blame our customers. As Calfornia Digital Libraries manager and Library Journal columnist Roy Tennant puts it: "Only librarians like to search; everyone else likes to find."

There are, however, some significant challenges to effective federated searching. One is the issue of duplication, when a search across several databases will pull up multiple instances of the same citation. Another is the issue of different resources having different search syntax (use of Boolean and proximity operators, truncation, wildcards, and so on). Response time is also an issue, as many libraries have found that federated searches take considerably longer than the "instant" results customers are accustomed to with Google. Finally, there is the question of how results are displayed. Library staff and customers are used to results being listed in the order of relevance, alphabetically, or chronologically, depending on the type of resource.

Various library technology vendors have been striving to meet these challenges over the last several years, and the rapidly changing status of the technology is reflected in SirsiDynix's recent decision to partner with Serials Solutions for their federated search solution (see yesterday's post). The challenges may never be completely surmounted, but the effort is worthwhile. Effective federated searching should not only save the time of the searcher, but may help library customers discover useful resources they might not have otherwise known about.

This arrangement will directly affect our ILS migration and implementation of the Enterprise Portal Solution, as Serials Solutions' Central Search product will become the foundation of federated searching in the EPS.